A Veteran Psychiatrist/Parent/Writer Observes the American Culture

Month: April 2018

I once again apologize to my small cadre of loyal readers. It has been a number of months since my last posting due to a period of time tending to my myeloma (some readers are aware of this already) with nearly a half year of irradiation therapy, bone marrows, scans, elective aggressive chemotherapy and two major orthopedic surgeries to shorte up my arms due to fractures from soft bones from long-term effects of myeloma. Myeloma eats up your calcium from bones, thinning of the rim or cortex of bones. This results in a non-estrogen based cause of osteoporosis. But fear not, my treatments started out of necessity for the first fracture, took me out of work, and gave me the time-change to elect to do some big-time preventive aggressive treatment since I would be out of work for a period of time. This is all in my continuing effort to exact the most durable longest term remission. I began this kind of aggressive self-decided approach that I began with my diagnosis nearly seven years ago. So I expect to be around for years hence, writing, working and embarrassing my adult (and one teen) children, and my grandchildren old enough to learn the ways of my dry deadpan teasing humor.

I had also the chance to read even more than usually do with so much time on my hands being out of work, indolently recuperating, preparing for the next rounds of interventions and procedures. I tried to find a book on the subject of ‘What The Hell To Do in Doctor’s Offices Waiting For Your Appointment Without Going Postal.” No such luck, I think because most people’s minds go into a mush-like state due to such factors as: having to listen to mush inducing muzak that is a contiuation of the non-tunes you heard in the elevator, realizing there is no WiFi in your cheap but filty rich doctor’s office, trying to control your growing anger the longer you have to wait, disguising your involuntary whole body tremors starting in your lower pelvis from your screaming bladder that is full to bursting since you expect ot have to give a urine sample, shakes from your Number 2 repository if you have to give a stool sample, trying to find something worth reading from the worthless waiting room magazines every doctor seems to have, except for the disease related magazine said doctors’ offices have that make everyone frightened and tense and terrified.